Hyderabadi Mutton (Lamb) Biryani

This is one of my mom's recipes for Biryani..She makes several versions..right from the authentic hyderabadi biryani..to the soggy South Indian biryani that borders on mutton gravy and rice :D.. This version is close to Hyderabadi biryani..

*A pic of my cousin's biryani for illustration :)

FYI This recipe might look a little complicated, but its actually not..

Ingredients:
1 Kg mutton(Marinated for 2-3 hours or longer)
2-3 Bay leaves
5-6 cardamom cloves
2 large onions - Sliced
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
2 bunches Mint leaves (pudina)
1 bunch Cilantro
250 grams green chillies (finely chopped or ground to a paste)
2 cups uncooked basmati rice
Garnish:
1 cup fried onions- Sliced and deep fried till they are dark and almost crispy.
Boiled egg

Method:

1. Marinade

1. Mix 1 cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste, green chilly paste, cilantro, 1 bunch of mint leaves.
2. Marinate mutton in this mixture for about 2-3 hours

2. The meat

1. In a big Kadai(wok)or cooker, add oil and fry the whole spices ( bay leaves, cardamom,cloves).
2. Add the remaining ginger garlic paste, and the onions..and fry until golden brown.
3. Add marinated mutton. Fry the mutton for about 5 minutes...or until the marinate loses its raw smell.
4. Add water as needed ( I say this because I have no clue how much water I need, I just keep going until the meat is cooked :) )..and slow cook the meat. Keep going until the water reduces, and all you are left with is a very thick gravy, just coating the meat.

While the meat is slow cooking, you can prepare the rice..

3.The rice

1. Wash the rice once.
2. Soak the rice for 5 minutes or less and drain without mixing or breaking the grains.
3. Bring about 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice, along with a little Garam masala,1 bunch of cilantro and 1 tablespoon of salt.
4. When the rice is about 3/4 cooked (the grains will be long but slightly translucent), drain the water.
5. The rice is now ready to go into the meat mixture.

4. The last step..We're almost there :)

1. Add the semi-cooked rice layer over the meat mixture. If you have the patience and time..you can make several layers of meat and rice, and add a layer of mint/cilantro leaves. ( if you do this, you would probably want to reduce the mint/cilantro in the marinade step. I don't cos I love the flavor!)
2. Seal the cooker/kadai with a tight lid and cook for about 5 minutes. There is no need to add any water, the rice cooks with the moisture from the meat mixture.
3.Garnish with deep fried onion slices and slices of boiled egg.

Serve hot with a Raita or chicken gravy.

Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

250g butter
250g caster sugar
250g self raising flour
2 teaspoons-Vanilla essence
4 medium eggs
50 ml buttermilk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to Gas mark 180°C.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar, until smooth and creamy.

3. Add eggs and flour a little at a time, beating the mixture to maintain the creamy consistency.

6. Add the vanilla essence and buttermilk, mix for a few minutes.

6. Pour the batter into a 9 inch pan and bake in an oven(middle shelf) for 30-35 minutes.

8. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve plain or with a jam/cream filling.